She Will Be Loved
by MelissaIsLame
Summary: Eli likes Clare, but Clare is currently dating KC. Jealousy erupts from KC and he does something to Clare that sends Eli into a fit of anger. Rated T for language. ONE-SHOT!


_**Author's Note: I got the inspiration for this [ONE-SHOT] while listening to "She Will Be Loved" by Maroon 5. I love that song. If you haven't heard it, I suggest you go listen to it. PS- This story is in Eli's POV. The italics in the story are gonna be some lyrics from the song. There won't be a lot of lyrics. Some at the beginning, then at the very end. Enjoy!**_

Moving to Degrassi wasn't on my agenda, but it had to be done. My past was too much to handle, so moving into new territory was for the best. I figured I'd just fly under the radar for the school year and get done as soon as possible. That was my plan until I met her. Clare Edwards. She was everything I didn't like. She was too pure for her own good. She always dressed conservative, wore a cross pendant around a silver chain and she wore a purity ring. She never once uttered a curse word and her personality was too bubbly for my liking. My opinion about her changed the day she and I got partnered up in English. One look into her blue eyes and I was a goner. Everything I thought I knew about Clare Edwards went straight out the window.

_Beauty queen of only eighteen, she had some trouble with herself._

_He was always there to help her, she always belonged to someone else._

Clare and I sat at The Dot working on some English paper. I didn't really care for the work, I just wanted an excuse to hang out with her. Over the past couple of weeks, I tried to hang out with her, but she always had plans already.

"Hello? Earth to Eli. Snap out of it." Clare waved her hand back and forth in front of my face.

"Uh yeah, where were we?" I shook my head, getting my hair out of my face.

"Really, Eli? You're already lost?" Clare sighed, but she didn't seem mad.

"This stuff is boring. I rather just sit here and stare at you." I smirked.

Clare blushed five different shades of pink and red before looking away. I loved knowing that I could make her blush.

"So, since you don't want to work, can we order food?" Clare broke the silence, but she was still looking away.

"Sure. Why not." I shrugged my shoulders.

I watched as Clare waved over some waiter guy and make small talk with him. He chuckled and she giggled even though I heard nothing funny. I was trying to figure out who this guy was when I felt a quick kick to my shin.

"Ow!" I whined as I rubbed the spot where Clare kicked me. "What was that for?"

Clare giggled again, "What do you want to order?"

"Oh. I'll, um, have what you're having." I mumbled.

The waiter jotted something down on the notepad and walked away.

"So, you like fries and milkshakes, too?" Clare raised an eyebrow.

"Um, yeah?" I gave a small nod.

"Oh. I just figured you would think it was a gross combo. Everyone gives me a disgusted look when I dip a fry into the milkshake." Clare smiled.

"Whoa, wait. You dip a fry in the milkshake, then eat it?" I questioned. "That does seem gross."

After Clare playfully hit my arm from across the table, the waiter brought us our order. I watched as Clare picked up a fry and dipped it in the milkshake, then eat it. I scrunched up my nose and shook my head as Clare continued to eat. She seemed to enjoy it very much so I decided to try it as well. I dipped a fry into my milkshake and popped it into my mouth. I chewed carefully and Clare eyed me in amusement. I quickly brought a napkin to my mouth and spit it out.

"That was seriously gross. How can you eat this?" I watched Clare's face as her lips pulled into a grin.

"Because it's good." She simply stated.

"So, how do you know that waiter?" I pointed to where he stood.

"Peter?" Clare asked. "He used to date my sister before she left for Kenya."

I stayed quiet for a few minutes as Clare ate the rest of her food. So, she has another sister, I thought to myself. I wonder what else I can get out of her.

"So, there's another Edwards girl. What else are you keeping from me?" I asked, now completely amused.

I saw as the grin she was wearing slowly start to fade, but she quickly recovered. "Oh, nothing." She fake smiled.

I heard the bell from above the door jingle, but I didn't bother to look and see who it was. Clare's eyes darted towards the door and her grin fell. Some guy, that I've seen around Degrassi, slid into the booth next to Clare and kissed her cheek.

"Hey babe, what are you doing here?" The boy eyed me while he asked her the question.

"Nothing. I was working on my English paper with my partner, but then I got hungry." Clare muttered.

"Oh, that's cool." The boy took one of my fries and popped it into his mouth.

"So, who are you?" He nodded towards me.

"I'm Eli. And you are?" I shot back.

"KC." The boy smirked as he wrapped his arm around Clare's shoulder.

I couldn't help the pang of jealousy that I felt when he touched her. They didn't even look like they were right for each other. Even Clare looked uncomfortable under his arm. If there was one thing I knew about Clare, it was that when someone she liked or thought was cute touched her, she blushed. Right now, she wasn't blushing at all. KC's phone beeped, I guess it was a text message. He read it to himself, sighed, kissed Clare on her cheek again and left without saying a word.

"I take it that was your boyfriend?" I asked.

"Yeah. I thought you knew? He never lets me leave his sight at school." Clare nervously chuckled.

"At school, Clare, I never notice anyone, but you." I mentally slapped myself. I can't believe I just said that out loud.

* * *

The next couple of weeks at school were fairly interesting. Even though Clare had a boyfriend, that didn't stop me from flirting with her when I had the chance. I would always wait by her locker, just trying to make small talk and get to know her better. Of course, the boyfriend would always make an appearance, but every time his phone beeped, he would leave. Neither Clare nor I knew what was so important, that he had to leave when his phone went off.

As the weeks progressed, I noticed Clare's wardrobe was changing. Her bright colored clothes were replaced by black and gray long sleeve shirts. As well as dark colored jeans. She no longer wore her sundresses or colorful accessories. There was no longer that little happy skip in her step and her attitude turned somewhat sour. I even noticed a change in her boyfriends personality. Since the last time I talked to him, he seemed to have gotten more aggressive.

I was sitting in my computer class very bored. We were supposed to be designing our own website, but since I knew how to do almost anything, I figured I'd do it last minute.

"Ms. Oh, may I go get a drink of water? My throat is bothering me." I fake coughed hoping she would let me go.

"Sure. Go ahead, Eli." Ms. Oh dismissed me.

I walked down the hallway, got my drink and then started to roam the hallways. There was no way I was going back to class early. In one of the empty hallways, I noticed a tall figure with his back faced towards me. I kept walking until I heard him bickering with someone. Eavesdropping wasn't my thing, but hell, I was really bored. I made a U-Turn and hid behind a door.

"What's going on between you two?" The male voice questioned.

"Nothing." It was a female voice now. "We're just friends hanging out."

"Yeah right. You spend too much time with him. I see the way he looks at you." The male voice was starting to get louder.

"What? Now I can't have any guy friends? You have plenty of other girl friends. Most of them are cheerleaders!" The female fought back.

I couldn't help but laugh to myself. High school couples are always fighting. I stood there, completely hidden and continued to listen while they fought. Things got quickly heated and I heard someone get pushed into a locker. Now, I could care less for high school drama, but if some dude pushed his chick into a locker, I don't think I could let that one slide. I peeked my head around the door and the scene I saw sent anger rippling through my body. KC had Clare pinned against the lockers. He was gripping bother her arms within his hand and whispering harshly in her ear. I took off running towards them and Clare was the first one to notice me. She had tears in her eyes that were threatening to fall over. I ripped one of KC's hands off of Clare and shoved him back.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" I spat out.

"Well, well. Speak of the devil." KC snorted. "Run along Emo boy. This is between me and my girlfriend."

"You just pushed her into a locker, you dumb shit. Do you really think I'm gonna leave her alone with you?" I shoved KC even harder than before.

I guess the word 'dumb shit' hit a nerve with KC because the next thing I knew, his fist connected with my jaw. I stumbled backwards and regained my composure. A warm, metallic taste started to fill my mouth. I swiped at my lip and blood stained my hand. I tried to lunge at KC, but Clare threw herself between us.

"Just stop! Please don't do this." Clare sobbed.

"Clare, he was hurting you. He deserves this." I said through gritted teeth.

"No, Eli. No-one deserves this. Just please walk away." Clare looked down at her feet.

"Really, Clare? You're gonna defend this jerk?" I questioned.

Clare stayed quiet and didn't bother to answer me. I glanced up at KC and he had the dumbest grin plastered on his face.

"Fine, have it your way." I said while walking away.

* * *

It's been a couple of days since I've talked to Clare. With KC constantly around her, I didn't trust myself to behave. It just surprised me that she stayed with him even when he was a total ass to her.

I was laying in my room just thinking about some stuff. Eventually, my mind wandered back to Clare and I got pissed all over again. "I need to go for a drive." I mumbled to myself. I grabbed the keys to Morty and headed outside. As I sat in Morty, I put in my blessthefall CD and blasted it. For some reason, their lyrics always seemed to calm me down. I pressed play and started to drive.

It felt like I had been driving around for hours when it started to pour down rain. I slowed down a bit when the rain got harder. As I was driving by the park, I noticed someone sitting on the Merry-Go-Round. I parked Morty by the curb and I watched as the person twirled around in a circle, in the pouring rain. When the person faced me, I noticed it was Clare. I jumped out of Morty and jogged my way towards her.

"Clare, what are you doing out here?" I asked.

She sat there quietly and kept twirling herself. When she came back around, I stopped her from twirling and took a seat next to her.

"KC broke up with me. He was cheating on me the whole time. Remember when his phone would beep and he'd suddenly leave? Well that was when the other girl was texting him." Clare whispered.

I couldn't help but feel somewhat happy now that she wasn't with him anymore. Clare seemed hurt that KC cheated on her, but I was still somewhat happy he was out of the picture. As I moved my hand to pushed away her matter hair from her face, she flinched.

"What's wrong?" I asked her while I tilted her face towards me. As she faced me, her eyes wouldn't make contact with mine. I noticed a bruise on her neck, then another and another, all lined up one after another. I felt my anger ripple through me again. I brushed my fingertips over the bruises.

"What happened? How did you even hide these from everyone?" I whispered, feeling the tears starting to form in my eyes. Luckily for me, it was raining and Clare wouldn't be able to tell if I was crying or not.

"KC gets mad easily." She nervously laughed. "Makeup works magic when it comes to hiding bruises."

"So that gives him the right to choke you?" My voice started to get a little louder. "I swear, that kid is dead."

I stood up, about to go look for KC, but Clare pulled me back down.

"Don't bother, please. He's out of my life. What's done is done. Just, please, stay here with me." Clare was practically begging now.

I sat back down next to her and draped my arm over her shoulder. She leaned into me and started to shiver from the rain.

"Come on, let's go sit in Morty." I said while standing her up. "And for the record, he's a fool for cheating on someone like you."

I was still pissed that KC hurt her, but I didn't wanna upset Clare and go after KC. KC might have gotten the first and only punch in, but I walked away with the girl.

_I drove for miles and miles and wound up at your door._

_I've had you so many times, but somehow I want more._

_I don't mind spending everyday out on your corner in the pouring rain._

_Look for the girl with the broken smile, ask her if she wants to stay a while._

_And she will be loved...she will be loved._

_**Well, there you guys have it. I hope it wasn't too much of a disappointment. I tried my best. Hopefully this was good. Leave me a review on what you guys liked or didn't like. **_


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